Harold and Grace, by Sean E Avery

The storm rushed, and howled, and splashed, and blew at the tiny tree, the little pond and the lonely leaf.

When it finally stopped, the lonely leaf was safe.

When a single caterpillar egg and a single frog egg survive a storm, an unlikely friendship is formed.  When Harold the tadpole and  Grace the caterpillar hatch from their eggs, they meet and, in spite of their obvious differences, become best friends. In the pond, Harold is teased by the fish who see that he is not the same as them. In the tree, Grace is shunned by the other insects because she is not the same as them.  But they lend each other support.

Eventually, though, Harold gets busy in the pond and forgets about Grace for a while. When he returns to see her, she is not there. Instead, there is a cocoon. Distraught, he uses the cocoon as a pillow, until one day a butterfly emerges and the pair are, after a brief misunderstanding, reunited.

Harold and Grace is a warm, funny tribute to friendship and diversity, which also explores the life cycles of frogs and butterflies, paralleled with the ebbs and flows of friendships. The illustrations use black ink and digital colours, with a palette rich in greens and purples, in natural tones that reflect the outdoor setting of the story. The whimsy of the characters and their surrounds is delightful, and the design of the book, in a smallish square hard cover with a felted embellishment, is adorable.

A beautiful offering.

Harold and Grace, by Sean E. Avery
Fremantle Press, 2015
ISBN 9781925162295

Available from good bookstores and online.

All Monkeys Love Bananas, by Sean E Avery

Lou McGrew is sick of bananas. He’s had his fill and can’t face the thought of one more banana – so he runs away. When he meets up with his rabbit friend Sue Hoploo she, too, is hiding from dinner – carrots

Monkeys eat bananas –
EVERY meal,
EVERY day.
For BREAKFAST, for DINNER,
for SNACKS and for LUNCH.
They all crave bananas,
MUNCH
MUNCH
MUNCH!
Well, MOST monkeys do…

Lou McGrew is sick of bananas. He’s had his fill and can’t face the thought of one more banana – so he runs away. When he meets up with his rabbit friend Sue Hoploo she, too, is hiding from dinner – carrots. The pair have a brilliant idea – they’ll swap food. But, when they do they both realise that they prefer their own food.

This humorous ‘greener grass’ tale is a visual delight. From front of book felted embellishments (kids and adults alike will love stroking the monkeys) through to a gorgeous blue spotted monkey and splotchy purple rabbit against black ink landscapes and, of course the yellows and oranges of the food, the whole books is gorgeous to view. Added to that is the humorous rhyming text and a simply silly story which will make youngsters giggle.

This is Sean E Avery‘s first picture book , but it is unlikely to be this talented youngster’s last.

All Monkeys Love Bananas

All Monkeys Love Bananas, by Sean E. Avery
Fremantle Press, 2012
ISBN 978192188873

This book is available i good bookstores, or online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.